…As Environmentalists, Others Conditionally Oppose Move
After over two decades of total abandonment of exploration and production (E&P) operations in Ogoniland, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to immediately begin the coordination of negotiations with all stakeholders within Ogoniland with a view to resuming oil production in the oil-rich community in Niger Delta region.
The President, who gave the directive in Abuja when he met with Ogoni leaders, including Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, at the Presidential Villa, promised that his administration would prioritise peace, justice, and sustainable development of the region.
The Special Adviser Information and Strategy to President, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement issued after the meeting quoted Tinubu as calling for unity and reconciliation, urging the Ogoni people to set aside historical grievances and work together to achieve peace, development, and a clean environment.
Tinubu said: “We cannot in any way rewrite history, but we can correct some anomalies of the past going forward. We cannot heal the wounds if we continue to be angry.
“We must work together with mutual trust. Go back home, do more consultations, and embrace others. We must make this trip worthwhile by bringing peace, development, and a clean environment back to Ogoniland”, the President added.
He directed the ministers, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, and the Rivers State Government to cooperate with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to achieve this mandate.
Tinubu further canvassed: “It is a great honour for me to have this meeting, which is an opportunity to dialogue with the people of Ogoniland.
“It has been many years since your children and myself partnered to resist military dictatorship in this country. No one dreamt I would be in this chair as President, but we thank God.
“Many of your sons present here were my friends and co-travellers in the streets of Nigeria, Europe, and America.
“I know what to do in memory of our beloved ones so that their sacrifices will not be in vain,” the President added.
Governor Fubara thanked the President for his support of the Ogoni people and for welcoming an all-inclusive representation of the people to the Presidential Villa, promising the delegation’s commitment to adhering to the President’s advice and providing the necessary support to achieve the government’s goals.
He said: “What we are doing here today is to concretise the love and respect we have for the President for being behind this meeting and for him to tell us to go back and continue the consultations with a timeline so that the resumption of oil production in Ogoniland will commence.
In his remarks, the National Security Adviser commended the Ogoni people for their confidence in President Tinubu and for embracing dialogue as a path to achieving lasting solutions to the problems in Ogoniland.
Speaking at the meeting, a representative of the Ogoni leadership, King Festus Babari Bagia Gberesaako XIII, the Gberemene of Gokana Kingdom, expressed the community leaders’ readiness to commence the process of finding lasting solutions to the lingering challenges in Ogoniland.
However, some activists and environmentalists have opposed the government’s plan to resume oil production in Ogoniland, urging the government halt the plan until meaningful talks with local communities are completed, according to report from Reuters.
The civil society groups, including Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, and the Ogoni Solidarity Forum, criticized the plan for disregarding the environmental and social damages caused by decades of oil extraction in the communities in Ogoniland.
In a 14-point demand issued on Tuesday, the groups criticized the Federal Government for opening talks with a select group from the region, arguing that such approach undermines efforts towards environmental justice and a cleanup of the heavily polluted environment.
The groups stated: “This decision disregards the enduring environmental, social, and economic injustices faced by the Ogoni people and undermines efforts toward sustainable development, environmental justice, community empowerment, and cleanup of the devastated environment.”
They are also seeking a $1 trillion commitment for clean-up and compensation, the immediate release of a confiscated Saro-Wiwa memorial sculpture, and a full implementation of the U.N. report that recommended a comprehensive clean-up of Ogoniland.
The groups maintained: “We stand in solidarity with the Ogoni people in their fight for justice and sustainable development.”
Ogoniland has remained a flashpoint for pollution in the oil-rich Niger River delta region where a $1 billion clean-up was launched in 2018 following a comprehensive 2011 United Nations Environmental Programme study.
